Resource:How to collaborate with faculty to develop a gateway innovation course for all Freshman

For freshmen, a big part of the first year at college is spent adjusting to life at university. While there are many different tactics for easing this adjustment, some colleges have chosen to provide support through required classes. This wiki will address one such change to this style of "gateway course," specifically at University of Maryland, and how these changes can be applied at other universities.

Introduction

At the previous Intro to University course at the University of Maryland, the main focus was introducing students to the resources available at the university, plotting out their courses for the following years, selecting a major, and even looking at possible career classes. However, it was decided that this was not enough for students - they needed to be exposed to other things as well. This

Purpose

As a sort of "toolkit" for approaching problems, innovation and entreprenurship education is being sought out by employers. Introduction to this type of thinking early on in secondary education is useful, as it allows students to continue practicing approaching and solving problems in a novel way throughout their years at unversity. 

Student Feedback

Try to get a feel for the student atmosphere and opinions about resources at your school. If your institution offers a similar introduction to university course, learn about how students feel about the course. What do they think is missing? What could be executed better? What types of skills do they feel they should be learning?

Faculty Assistance

Faculty enthusiasm proved to be incredibly helpful in the case of the University of Maryland. Reaching out to professors and organizations sympathetic to your cause and ideas will be useful in terms of gaining support and assistance to altering an existing class or introducing a new one.

Curriculum

As stated previously, innovation and entrepreneurship education are more toolkits for approaching problems. The focus in creating the curriculum should be on creating a new mindset and developing tools for innovation, rather than creating a new business. Additionally, this approach could also help in gaining student and faculty support. 

Possible Roadblocks

The most difficult thing about introducing innovation and entrepreneurship into classes is ensuring professor and student buy-in. A possible reason for faculty resistance to introducing I&E into their classes is lack of experience with teaching these types of topics. This has been addressed at the University of Maryland through using 2 instructors for the first cycle of the pilot program. One of the instructors will be someone like the traditional course teacher, and the other will be a facilitator from the Academy of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This can develop into instructing other professors on teaching I&E topics. 

At your institution, searching out any existing resources in I&E and learning about possible workshops for I&E education could prove useful. 

Conclusion

Seeking out any existing resources in this topic would be the first step, and having a defined plan after multiple conversations with students and faculty before approaching someone who can allow for changes in curriculum would be the next. Don't be afraid to reach out to others for advice and support, and be flexible and creative!